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Village Trustees Send Letter of Support for Dark Stores Legislation

Somers Village President and Trustees sent a letter dated August 23, 2017 to State Representative John Macco, Chairman of the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee expressing strong support of closing the “dark stores” loophole.

The Village of Somers and its taxpayers are facing the very real threat of the “dark stores" loophole. In July, the Village of Somers received formal notification that Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club would be challenging the stores’ 2017 assessments from the Village of Somers. If they are successful, their litigation could cost Somers taxpayers over $7 million dollars in assessed value. If not stopped, the “dark stores” strategies will continue to shift more of the property tax burden to homeowners and the small business community.

On June 13, 2017, the Village Board also passed Resolution 17-012 in support of SB291, the substance of which is to reverse a Wisconsin Supreme Court case known as Walgreens v. City of Madison, et al.